If They Don't Kill Us... We Will

Chaper 8 - Finn

“You don’t think it’s true, do you?” I asked Ryan as we wandered around the stands at the football pitch. “About Kaitlin being pregnant?”

Ryan shrugged, ripping the wrapper off a Snickers bar and stuffing half in his mouth.

“I dunno. Want one?” he said, offering me another Snickers bar.

I shook my head and we sat down on one of the long benches that circled the football field. In around five minutes the team would come out and start training and probably kill us because they think we’re ‘spies’. Huh, yeah right.

We usually hang around here at lunchtime because it’s safer than the main school. Lunchtime is the time where Dexter and Lewis like to go around picking their victims. For some reason they never picked on the football team. I suppose they were too strong for them.

Those jocks would never understand the misery that went on it the school.

I yawned and stretched, my eye resting on the field slightly covered with a thin layer of frost. Then I sat up straighter. There were two figures on the field.

I could easily pick out Cesca for her platinum hair. And Cody was walking along next to her.

I watched them for a bit while Ryan stuffed his face. I could see another person flitting around the changing rooms. Sephy. If she hung around there too long, Andy was going to find her and most certainly kill her.

I watched them until they retreated back to the school.

“Come on,” I murmured to Ryan. “The team will be out here any moment.”

Ryan nodded and stuffed a wrapper into his jeans pocket, getting up off the bench and stretching.

The doors to the changing room clanged open and the whole team – seven in all – jogged out and around the field. The coach followed close behind, shouting orders and blowing on his whistle.

I tugged on Ryan’s arm and we ran down the steel steps.

“Hey! Hey you, stop!!” a voice shouted. My heart sank.

“Go,” I hissed to Ryan. “They haven’t seen you.”

“I-I’ll see you in class,” he said, turning and running.

Slowly, I turned around to see Bernie Gaines, the goalie, running up to me.

“Where you spying?” he asked furiously.

I resisted the temptation to roll my eyes. “Why would I spy? I go to this school.”

“Maybe you have connections to another team,” he hissed.

“What’s going on here?!” Coach Edgers shouted, blowing on his whistle and running over.

“I caught this spy watching us for our tactics!”

The rest of the team that had gathered around started whispering together, shooting me looks.

“Oh c’mon! Why would I want to spy on my own school’s football team?” I snapped.

“I don’t know, you’re the spy, not me!”

“Leave him alone Gaines,” a new voice said tiredly.

I looked over Bernie’s shoulder to see Andy walking over. His eyes flickered to me.

“B-but he was spying on us!” Bernie said in outrage.

“No he wasn’t. C’mon, let’s get back to the game,” Andy said, tossing the football to Robert.

Robert looked at the crowd unsurely but said –

“Let’s go guys.”

The coach blew the whistle again and the players ran off except for Andy and Bernie.

Bernie gave me a glare before turning and slowly making his way to the goal.

Andy was watching me again.

“T-thanks,” I stuttered.

He gave a curt nod and turned away, re-joining the game.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I began to walk away from the pitch, under the stadium.

The sound of loud music and cheering hit me.

Peeping through to the other field, I saw the cheerleading team practicing.

I watched as Jessica Evans and Zoe Leonards were thrown up in the air and caught again while the rest dance beneath them.

“Andy?” a voice called and someone grabbed my wrist.

“W-what?”

“Oh, Finn.”

The figure came out of the shadows and revealed itself to be Kaitlin. She looked bad. Her usually well-kept hair was messy and she had bags under her eyes.

“Hey Kaitlin. W-why aren’t you out there?” I asked, pointing to the cheerleaders.

Kaitlin sighed and wrapped her arms around herself. “I was kicked off the team.”

“What?! Why?!”

She laughed but it was cold. “Why do you think?” she said, pointing to her stomach.

“Oh… so it’s true?”

She nodded bitterly.

With a sigh she sat down on the ground, pulling her legs up under her chin.

“C-can I tell you something?”

I sat down next to her. “Sure.”

“I-I don’t know why I’m telling you, I just have to tell someone,” she sniffed.

“Why not Andy?”

She shook her head. “I-I can’t,” she said desperately. “And you can’t tell him either. You can’t tell anyone. Promise?”

“Yeah, I promise.”

She studied my face for a moment, trying to see if she could trust me. After a while she seemed to have made her mind up.

“I-I’m leaving this school.”

“What?! When?!”

“Next week. My p-parents are making me switch. A-and I won’t be able to see any of my friends again and they certainly won’t let me see A-Andy.”

I shifted closer to her, wondering whether I should comfort her.

“There, there,” I said hopelessly. “I-I’m sure it’ll turn out OK-”

“It won’t Finn! I’m leaving! I’m practically leaving my whole life behind!” she cried.

I awkwardly put my arm over her shoulder in a comforting way and she pulled me closer, crying into my chest.

“Are you going to tell Andy?” I asked.

“I-I don’t know.”

“I think you should,” I said gently.

“B-but he’ll be heartbroken!”

“He’ll be even more heartbroken if you didn’t tell him and one day disappeared. And he had to find it out from other people.”

“Y-Yeah, you’re right.”

She got up awkwardly, brushing the tears away.

“Thank Finn, you know, for listening,” she said with a watery smile.

“It’s fine,” I replied, getting up too.

“Well… see you around.”

“Yeah, see you around.”

She smiled again and I shoved my hands in my pocket, heading back towards the main school.